In the labyrinthine depths of a subway tunnel, a desperate struggle for survival unfolded. Twenty minutes after their trail went cold, Evan’s smart glasses failed to lock onto their pursuer’s path, leaving them trapped in a maze of underground passages. A red error code flashed across the glasses, mirroring the confusion and rising panic.
Evan, the architect of a surveillance system that monitored a nation’s borders day and night, found himself unable to track the direction of his own superior, who had been abducted. “Straight ahead? Right?” Evan asked, his voice laced with urgency as they reached a fork in the tunnel. Irina, his companion, hesitated before pointing to the right, towards a dimly lit passage where the only illumination came from flickering hazard lights.
“That way,” Irina stated, her gaze already fixed on the tunnel’s interior. Before Evan could fully process her words, she sprinted forward. Evan, gritting his teeth, followed close behind. A sign indicating ‘Facility Inspection in Progress’ marked a disused coin locker area. The deeper they ventured, the more the sounds of the city faded, replaced by the echo of their own footsteps against the concrete walls.
In the deepest section, behind a wall of grey grime, a dark silhouette began to materialize. As Irina rounded a corner, she collided with the figure. It was her superior, Jordan, slumped over, with a man standing behind him, a syringe poised at Jordan’s neck. The needle’s tip was clear, and a transparent liquid was being injected.
“No!” Irina screamed. In a surge of adrenaline, she launched herself from the ground, her legs wrapping around the assailant’s neck. Her intention was clear: to incapacitate him by crushing his carotid artery or to sever his head. However, the man, identified as Kim Dong-seong, remained unfazed. Even with Irina’s legs constricting his neck, he breathed without faltering. Kim Dong-seong’s iron-like grip seized Irina’s ankles, twisting them with brutal force to pry her off his neck.
“Ugh…!” Losing her balance, Irina tumbled to the ground, curling her body to absorb the impact. She immediately used her momentum to spin and deliver a roundhouse kick, a blow powerful enough, she thought, to bend a steel pipe. But Kim Dong-seong blocked the kick with his forearm and simultaneously landed a punch to her exposed jaw.
Despite the impact, he never took his eyes off her. A sickening crack echoed as Irina’s body recoiled. She gasped, struggling to breathe. Yet, even as she choked, she managed to latch onto his right leg, attempting a tackle. Her only hope was to bring him down, to negate the significant weight advantage he possessed. Kim Dong-seong, sensing his disadvantage, shifted his weight backward, throwing Irina off.
He then kicked Irina squarely in the face. The impact sent her reeling, her vision blurred by sweat and blood. Stumbling, she threw a punch, but her lack of balance caused it to miss its target. Kim Dong-seong’s counter-punch landed squarely on Irina’s jaw, her vision swam, and the world began to dim.
Before she could even register the thought of getting up, her left knee buckled. Irina crashed onto the concrete floor. The sleeve of her jacket was ripped to her elbows, and her skin, scraped raw, was mixed with dust and blood. Kim Dong-seong immediately pinned her down. Despite the excruciating pain of her bones grinding, Irina did not scream. Evan rounded the corner a moment too late. As he did, Irina twisted her waist, managing to slip out from beneath Kim Dong-seong.
Kim Dong-seong kicked Irina’s body, his eyes narrowing. Evan, seeing the blood streaming from Irina’s mouth, felt his mind go blank. He tried to activate the full-vision mode on his smart glasses, but a low battery warning flashed, and the system shut down, leaving only the recording function active. Without hesitation, Evan charged at Kim Dong-seong, fighting bare-handed. Kim Dong-seong, without even removing his hands from his pockets, delivered a powerful front kick to Evan’s chest.
“Cough…!” Evan was thrown back against the wall, struggling to draw a breath. His untrained body couldn’t withstand such an impact. Kim Dong-seong ignored Evan and turned his attention back to Irina, who was struggling to rise. Irina attempted a sweep kick, but Kim Dong-seong was unfazed. Instead, he used her momentum to push her back down onto the floor. As Irina desperately struggled, Kim Dong-seong pinned her upper body with his right knee. His masked face loomed over Irina’s jaw. He showed no emotion, no anger. His eyes weren’t looking at Irina as an enemy, but as the next target in his sequence. His fist descended towards Irina’s face.
“Ugh!” A scream echoed through the underground passage. Blood gushed through her torn jacket, staining her white blouse a dark crimson. It wasn’t just the pain; that blow made Irina realize the situation. If Jordan died, Evan would die too. This man wasn’t just stronger; he fought without flinching, showing no pain even when struck. His technique was only half-learned, but his sheer resilience compensated for the deficit, making him an unstoppable force.
In that moment, Irina changed her strategy. If she couldn’t win with her fists, she would use something else. Something Kim Dong-seong couldn’t control in this tunnel: the eyes of other people. Suppressing her pain and humiliation, Irina gathered the rest of her breath and let out a loud, piercing cry. “Ajutor! Săriți! Ne omoară! (Help! Save us! They’re killing us!)”
From the other end of the tunnel, a murmur arose. The sound of a cargo cart approached, and footsteps began to move towards the darkness. The flashlights of smartphones flickered on. Kim Dong-seong cursed under his breath, recognizing the shift in tactics. He kicked the syringe off the floor, and it skittered under the ribcage, never fully emerging. He glanced at the fallen Jordan, then turned and disappeared without a trace. His attire was dark, his face hidden by a mask, leaving only his cold eyes visible. Kim Dong-seong moved against the flow of the gathering crowd, vanishing into the shadows.
“Hey! What’s going on?” people called out. “He’s bleeding! Call an ambulance!” Everyone raised their phones, recording. Evan, clutching his throbbing chest, crawled towards Jordan. Jordan lay collapsed in front of the coin lockers, foam around his lips, barely conscious. The needle mark on his neck was clearly visible. Irina’s intervention had prevented Kim Dong-seong from injecting the full dose. Only part of the substance had entered Jordan’s system.
“Jordan, wake up. Open your eyes!” Jordan’s eyelids fluttered slightly. That was the only response Evan received. He turned towards Irina. She leaned against the wall, her arm hanging limply, her shoulder visibly dislocated. Seeing the wound on her face, Evan’s voice rose. “Don’t move. Wait for the ambulance.” “And Jordan?” “He’s alive. Thanks to you.” Irina closed her eyes, a faint, almost-smile on her lips.
“…That guy.” Irina swallowed, trying to grasp something solid in her fading consciousness. “It was definitely effective… how can he not show any expression?” Irina’s eyes began to close, but with a final surge of strength, she reached out and grabbed Evan’s hand. Her words trailed off weakly. The grip on her hand loosened, and her strength ebbed away. A siren wailed in the distance, growing louder as it approached the tunnel’s end. Paramedics rushed in, carrying Jordan and Irina out. Evan followed them to the exit, where paramedics guided him outside. The back door of the ambulance closed with a thud. The siren faded into the Tokyo night, its red lights receding.
Evan stood alone. Fragments of memories began to reassemble in his mind: the earphones on the highway, the charging cable in Manila, the broken communication upon entering Tokyo Station, and the man who had just dealt with them emotionlessly. The ambulance carrying Irina sped through a red light, disappearing into the darkness. Behind it, the Tokyo nightscape blurred, a kaleidoscope of traffic lights. The familiar streetlights seemed to flicker aimlessly, having lost their purpose.
